System and method for obtaining video streams

ABSTRACT

A system, computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method for obtaining video streams is presented. A device-agnostic request to obtain a video stream is received from an application executing on a client device, the device-agnostic request including a universal resource identifier (URI) for the video stream, the URI including a type of the video stream and at least one of a name of the video stream and device-specific parameters for the video stream. The URI is analyzed to identify a media device from which the video stream is available. A device-specific library for the media device is identified. A device-specific request corresponding to the device-agnostic request is executed to obtain the video stream, the device-specific request including the URI. The video stream is received from the media device responsive to executing the device-specific request. The video stream is provided to the application.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a United States National Stage Application filedunder 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Patent Application Serial No.PCT/US2012/058470 filed on Oct. 2, 2012, which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/543,261 filed onOct. 4, 2011, which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed implementations relate generally to obtaining videostreams.

BACKGROUND

For a client device that acts as an intermediary device between a mediadevice (e.g., a television set top box) and an output device (e.g., atelevision display), it is desirable for an application executing on theclient device to obtain video streams from media devices that areaccessible to the client device so that these video streams may bedisplayed on the output device. However, during development of theapplication, a developer of the application for the client device doesnot know which media devices in a plurality of media devices will becoupled to the client device. Furthermore, each media device that iscoupled to the client device may have a different protocols andaddressing mechanisms in which video streams that are available on themedia device are obtained. Including these protocols and addressingmechanisms for all possible media devices in the application duringdevelopment of the application is burdensome and impractical for thedeveloper of the application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The implementations disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example,and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings. Like reference numerals refer to corresponding partsthroughout the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network system,according to some implementations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating example modules of a server,according to some implementations.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating example modules of a clientdevice, according to some implementations.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating example modules of an applicationframework, according to some implementations.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example server, according tosome implementations.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example client device,according to some implementations.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for populating a streams database withinformation relating to video streams, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for obtaining universal resourceidentifiers for video streams, according to some implementations.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for obtaining video streams, accordingto some implementations.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for analyzing a URI to identify amedia device from which a video stream is available, according to someimplementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The implementations described herein provide techniques for obtaining avideo stream that is available from media devices that are accessible toa client device.

System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network system 100,according to some implementations. The network system 100 includes aclient device 101 coupled to an output device 102, a media device 103,and an input device 105 of a user 106. In some implementations, theclient device 101 is a television set top box. In some implementations,the output device 102 includes one or more of a monitor, a projector, atelevision, and a speaker.

In some implementations, the client device 101 is an intermediary devicethat is configured to control devices coupled to the client device 101(e.g., the media device 103, the output device 102, etc.) and that isconfigured to provide enhanced multimedia functionality. The enhancedmultimedia functionality includes, but is not limited to, providingpicture-in-picture capabilities on the output device 102 that allows theuser 106 to simultaneously access (e.g., browse and/or otherwiseinteract with) web sites on the output device 102 (e.g., a televisiondisplay) while watching and/or listening to an instance of a media item(e.g., a video) being presented in a smaller area of the output device102, providing a user interface on the output device 102 that allows theuser 106 to search for instances of media items that are available oncontent sources (e.g., a particular television channel, a streamingmedia service, etc.) that are accessible to the client device 101 of theuser 106, and modifying audio and/or video signals received from themedia device 103 (e.g., overlaying graphical objects in video stream,inserting audio into an audio stream, etc.) and outputting the modifiedaudio and/or video signals to the output device 102 for presentation tothe user 106.

Note that an “instance of a media item” may refer to a particularshowing of the media item at a particular date and/or time on aparticular content source (e.g., a showing of Episode 1 of the Simpsonsat 10 PM on Jan. 3, 2011, on Channel 2 of an over-the-air televisionservice, etc.) or a particular copy of the media item on a particularcontent source (e.g., Episode 1 of the Simpsons on streaming videoservice 1 for rent, Episode 1 of the Simpsons on streaming video service2 for purchase, etc.).

A media item includes, but is not limited to, a movie, a video, atelevision program (e.g., an episode of a television series, astandalone television program, etc.), a book, an issue of a magazine, anarticle, a song, and a game.

A content source includes, but is not limited to, a digital videorecorder, a satellite radio channel, an over-the-air radio channel, anover-the-air television channel, a satellite television channel, a cabletelevision channel, a cable music channel, an Internet Protocoltelevision channel, and a streaming media service (e.g., avideo-on-demand service, a streaming video service, a streaming musicservice, etc.).

In some implementations, the user 106 uses the input device 105 toinstruct the client device 101 to perform various actions with respectto the output device 102 and/or the media device 103. For example, theuser 106 may use the input device 105 to instruct the client device 101to increase the volume of the output device 102. Similarly, the user 106may use the input device 105 to instruct the client device 101 toinstruct the media device 103 to obtain instances of media items.Furthermore, the user 106 may use the input device 105 to instruct theclient device 101 to search for instances of media items satisfying asearch query. The interactions between the user 106, the client device101, the output device 102, and the media device 103 are described inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The input device 105 includes, but is not limited to, a pointing device(e.g., a mouse, a trackpad, a touchpad, a free space pointing device), akeyboard, a touch-sensitive display device (e.g., a touch-screen displayand/or controller), a remote controller, a smart phone including aremote controller application, and a visual gesture recognition system(e.g., a system that captures and recognizes motions and/or gestures ofa user and translates the motions and/or gestures into input commands).

In some implementations, the media device 103 is configured to obtaininstances of media items from a content source and provide audio and/orvideo signals to be presented to the user 106 using the output device102.

In some implementations, the media device 103 obtains instances of mediaitems (e.g., instances of media items 154) from a local content source104. In some implementations, the local content source 104 includes oneor more of a digital video recorder of the media device 103, a hard diskdrive of the media device 103, or a network storage device accessible bythe media device 103.

In some implementations, the media device 103 obtains instances of mediaitems (e.g., instances of media items 150 and 151) from content sources140 provided by a content provider 130 via network 121. A “contentprovider” is an entity or a service that provides one or more contentsources and a “content source” is a source of instances of media items(e.g., a television channel, a radio channel, a web site, a streamingmedia service, etc.). In some implementations, network 121 includes oneor more of a cable television service, a satellite television service, asatellite radio service, an over-the-air television service, anover-the-air radio service, or a data network (e.g., network 120, theInternet, a virtual private network, etc.).

In some implementations, the media device 103 obtains instances of mediaitems (e.g., instances of media items 152 and 153) from content sources141 provided by a content provider 131 via network 120. In someimplementations, the content provider 131 is a streaming media service(e.g., a streaming video service, a streaming audio service, etc.).Network 120 can generally include any type of wired or wirelesscommunication channel capable of coupling together computing nodes. Thisincludes, but is not limited to, a local area network, a wide areanetwork, and a combination of networks. In some implementations, network120 includes the Internet.

In general, the media device 103 may obtain instances of media itemsfrom any combination of: local content sources, content sourcesavailable via network 121, and content sources available via network120.

In some implementations, the media device 103 includes a physicaldevice. The physical device includes, but is not limited to, a digitalvideo recorder, a satellite radio set top box, an over-the-air radiotuner, an over-the-air television tuner, a satellite television set topbox, a cable television set top box, an Internet Protocol television settop box, and a game console.

In some implementations, the media device 103 includes a virtual device(e.g., a software module) executing on the client device 101. Thevirtual device includes, but is not limited to, a web browser executingon the client device 101 and a streaming media application executing onthe client device 101.

In general, the media device 103 may include any combination of physicaldevices and virtual devices.

In some implementations, the network system 100 includes a server 110coupled to network 120. In these implementations, the server 110 obtainsmetadata for instances of media items from a metadata provider 111and/or from web sites on the Internet, builds a database of media itemsbased on the metadata for the instances of the media items, and returnsinformation relating to instances of media items satisfying searchqueries and that are available on content sources accessible to theclient device 101. A content source that is accessible to the clientdevice 101 (of a user 106) includes a content source for which theclient device 101 has a subscription (e.g., a cable or satellitetelevision channel, a streaming media service, etc.) a content sourcefor which the client device 101 has an appropriate media device toreceive media items from the content source (e.g., an over-the-airtelevision or radio tuner, a network interface device, an applicationfor a streaming media service, etc.), and a content source for which theclient device 101 has purchased rights to obtain media items (e.g., avideo-on-demand service, a video rental service, etc.). Note that theclient device 101 may only be able to access a particular set of contentsources. For example, the client device 101 may only have access toparticular channels on a cable television service. Similarly, the clientdevice 101 may have access to a first streaming media service, but not asecond streaming media service. Thus, it is beneficial to provide theuser 106 only with information for instances of media items that areavailable on content sources accessible to the client device 101.

The metadata for an instance of a media item include, but are notlimited to, a content source on which the instance of the media item isavailable, dates and times when the instance of the media item isavailable, a description of the item, i.e., a title, actors associatedwith the instance of the media item, musicians associated with theinstance of the media item, producers associated with the instance ofthe media item, directors associated with the instance of the mediaitem, a synopsis of the instance of the media item, a first air date ofthe instance of the media item, a series for which the instance of themedia item is a member (e.g., a television series, etc.), a genre (e.g.,comedy, drama, game show, horror, suspense, reality, etc.) of theinstance of the media item, and a cost of the instance of the mediaitem.

The information relating to an instance of the media item include, butare not limited to, at least a subset of the metadata for the instanceof the media item, links to content relating to the media item (e.g., alink to an a web page of an actor appearing in the media item, etc.),and content relating to the media item that is obtained from anotherdatabase (e.g., a proprietary database) and/or from web pages includingcontent related to the media item (e.g., a web page for a televisionprogram, a web page for an actor, etc.).

In some implementations, previously queries and search results arestored in a cache to speed up query responses. The previous queries andsearch results may be periodically removed from the cache to ensure thatthe cache is not storing search results for instances of media itemsthat are no longer available (e.g., a show time of an episode of atelevision series may have passed since information relating to theinstance of the episode was stored in the cache).

The server 110 is described in more detail below with reference to FIG.2.

Note that although FIG. 1 illustrates that the client device 101 iscoupled to one media device (e.g., the media device 103), one outputdevice (e.g., the output device 102), and one input device (e.g., theinput device 105), the client device 101 may be coupled to multiplemedia devices, multiple output devices, and multiple input devices.Similarly, although FIG. 1 illustrates one client device (e.g., theclient device 101) and one metadata provider (e.g., metadata provider111), the network system 100 may include multiple client devices andmetadata providers. Moreover, although FIG. 1 illustrates one contentprovider (e.g., the content provider 130) coupled to network 121 and onecontent provider (e.g., the content provider 131) coupled to network120, multiple content providers may be coupled to each network.

Furthermore, although FIG. 1 shows one instance of the server 110,multiple servers may be present in the network system 100. For example,the server 110 may include a plurality of distributed servers. Theplurality of distributed servers may provide load balancing and/or mayprovide low-latency points of access to nearby computer systems. Thedistributed servers may be located within a single location (e.g., adata center, a building, etc.) or may be geographically distributedacross multiple locations (e.g., data centers at various geographicallocations, etc.).

The client device 101 is described in more detail below with referenceto FIGS. 3, 4, and 6. The server 110 is described in more detail belowwith reference to FIGS. 2 and 5.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating example modules of the server110, according to some implementations. The server 110 includes a frontend module 201, an availability module 202, a content mapping module205, metadata importer modules 206-207, and a web crawler module 208.The front end module 201 provides an interface between the modules ofserver 110 and the client device 101. The availability module 202identifies instances of media items that satisfy a search query receivedfrom the client device 101 and that are available on content sourcesthat are accessible to the client device 101. As discussed above, theclient device 101 may be only able to access a particular set of contentsources. Thus, it is beneficial to provide the user 106 only withinformation for instances of media items that are available on contentsources accessible to the client device 101. The content mapping module205 processes metadata obtained by the metadata importer modules 206-207and the web crawler module 208 to generate a search index 203 and anavailability database 204.

The following discussion illustrates an example process for importingmetadata for instances of media items. The metadata importer modules206-207 obtain metadata 240 and 241 for instances of media items frommetadata providers 111 and 220, respectively. In some implementations,the server 110 includes a metadata importer module for each metadataprovider. The web crawler module 208 imports and processes web pages 221to produce metadata 242 for instances of media items. The metadata 240,241 and 242 may include duplicate information. For example, the metadataprovider 111 and the metadata provider 220 may both provide metadata forinstances of media items available from a particular cable televisionservice. However, each metadata provider may use different identifiersfor the instances of the media items available from the particular cabletelevision service. Thus, in some implementations, the content mappingmodule 205 analyzes the metadata 240, 241, and 242 for the instances ofthe media items to identify unique media items. For example, the contentmapping module 205 identify unique media items by grouping instances ofmedia items for which a predetermined subset of the metadata for theinstances of the media items match (e.g., a group of instances of mediaitems is formed when the series name, the episode number, and the actorsmatch for each of the instances of the media items in the group, arelease year etc.). In some implementations, a group of instances ofmedia items is formed when the series name, the episode number, and theactors match for each of the instances of the media items in the group.In some implementations, a group of instances of media items is formedwhen the movie name, release year, and the actors match for each of theinstance of the media items in the group. The content mapping module 205then generates content identifiers 243 for each unique media item andgenerates metadata 244 for the unique media items. In someimplementations, a content identifier includes an identifier for aseries of related media items (e.g., a content identifier for atelevision series) and an identifier for a media item (e.g., a contentidentifier for an episode of the television series). The metadata 244for a unique media item includes, but is not limited to, the contentidentifier 243 for the unique media item, at least a subset of themetadata 240, 241, and 242 for each instance of the unique media item.For example, Episode 1 of “The Simpsons” may have 6 instances acrossvarious content sources. The content mapping module 205 may assign acontent identifier 243 having a value of “1” to Episode 1 of “TheSimpsons” and may include metadata for each instance of Episode 1 of“The Simpsons.” The content mapping module 205 uses the contentidentifiers 243 and the metadata 244 for the instances of the uniquemedia items to generates a search index 203 that is used to efficientlyidentify content identifiers 243 for media items. The content mappingmodule 205 also uses the content identifiers 243 and the metadata 244for the instances of the unique media items to generate an availabilitydatabase 204 that is indexed by the content identifiers 243 and contentsources on which the corresponding instances of the media items areavailable.

The following discussion illustrates an example process for respondingto a search query from the client device 101. The front end module 201receives a search query 230 from the client device 101 and dispatchesthe search query 230 to the availability module 202. Prior todispatching the search query 230 to the availability module 202, thefront end module 201 optionally normalizes and expands the search query230. In some implementations, the front end module 201 optionallyreceives information relating to content sources 231 accessible to theclient device 101 from the client device 101. In some implementations,the availability module 202 obtains the information relating to contentsources 231 accessible to the client device 101 from a database (e.g., aprofile of the user 106 of the client device 101, a profile for theclient device 101, etc.). The availability module 202 queries the searchindex 203 using the search query 230 to obtain content identifiers 232and metadata 233 for instances of media items that satisfy the searchquery 230. The availability module 202 then queries the availabilitydatabase 204 using the content identifiers 232 and content sources 231accessible to the client device 101 to obtain instances 234 of mediaitems that are available on content sources 231 accessible to the clientdevice 101. In other words, the instances 234 of media items are both(1) available on content sources 231 accessible to the client device 101and (2) satisfy the search query 230.

The availability module 202 then generates search results 235 andaggregate information 236 based on the metadata 233 and the instances234 of media items that are available on content sources 231 accessibleto the client device 101. In some implementations the search results 235include information relating to the instances 234 of media items (e.g.,a name and/or an episode number for episodes of a television series, aname of a television series, a name of movie, etc.) and the aggregateinformation 236 corresponding to the unique media items. The aggregateinformation 236 of a media item includes, but is not limited to, anumber of episodes of a series that are available on content sources 231accessible to the client device 101, a most recent instance of the mediaitem that is available on content sources 231 accessible to the clientdevice 101 (e.g., an upcoming new episode, a newest episode that waspreviously aired, etc.), an oldest instance of the media item that isavailable on content sources 231 accessible to the client device 101(e.g., a pilot episode, etc.), a completeness of the instances of themedia item that are available on content sources 231 accessible to theclient device 101 (e.g., all episodes are available), a number of uniquecontent sources 231 on which the instances of the media item isaccessible to the client device 101, a content source 231 that is mostfrequently selected, time periods during which the media item isavailable on the content sources 231, a future time at which the mediaitem will be available on the content sources 231, a remaining time thatthe media item is accessible on the content source 231, and a date whenthe media item was purchased.

The availability module 202 then returns the search results 235 and/orthe aggregate information 236 to the client device 101 via the front endmodule 201.

In some implementations, the modules of the server 110 are included inthe client device 101 to facilitate searching of media items stored inthe local content source 104.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating example modules of the clientdevice 101, according to some implementations. In some implementations,the client device 101 includes an application framework 301 that usescontrol devices 303 to control devices coupled to the client device 101(e.g., the media device 103, the output device 102, etc.) in response toinput events received from the input device 105 and that is configuredto provide enhanced multimedia functionality (e.g., as described abovewith reference to FIG. 1). The application framework 301 is described inmore detail below with reference to FIG. 4.

In some implementations, the client device 101 includes an input deviceport 302, control devices 303, input ports 304, and output ports 305.The input device port 302 receives input events from the input device105. The control devices 303 transmit device-specific requests and/ordevice-specific commands to the media device 103 and/or the outputdevice 102. In some implementations, the control devices 303 include oneor more of an infrared transceiver, a serial interface device, aBluetooth transceiver, and a network interface device. The input ports304 receive audio signals and/or video signals from the media device103. The output ports 305 transmit audio signals and/or video signals tothe output device 102. In some implementations the input ports 304 andthe output ports 305 include one or more of a universal serial bus (USB)port, a Bluetooth transceiver, an Ethernet port, a Wi-Fi transceiver, anHDMI port, a DisplayPort port, a Thunderbolt port, a composite videoport, a component video port, an optical port, and an RCA audio port.

In some implementations the output device 102 is integrated with theclient device 101. For example, the client device 101 and the outputdevice 102 may be included in the same housing (e.g., a television set).

The following discussion illustrates an example process for processingrequests and/or commands received from the input device 105. Theapplication framework 301 receives input events 310 from the inputdevice 105 via the input device port 302. The input events 310 include,but are not limited to, key presses, pointer positions, pointing devicebutton presses, scroll wheel positions, gestures, and selections ofgraphical user interface (GUI) objects (e.g., links, images, etc.).

One or more of the input events 310 may correspond to a device-agnosticrequest and/or a device-agnostic command. A device-agnostic request(e.g., a request to acquire a media device, a request to obtaininstances of media items, etc.) is a generic request that may be issuedto a plurality of devices regardless of the device-specific syntax ofrequests for the plurality of particular devices. Similarly, adevice-agnostic command (e.g., a command to increase a volume level, acommand to change a channel, etc.) is a generic command that may beissued to a plurality of devices regardless of the device-specificsyntax of requests for the plurality of particular devices.

The application framework 301 maps device-agnostic requests todevice-specific requests 311 for the media device 103. Similarly, theapplication framework 301 maps device-agnostic commands todevice-specific commands 312 for the media device 103. The applicationframework transmits the device-specific requests 311 and/or thedevice-specific commands 312 to the media device 103 using the controldevices 303.

In response to the device-specific requests 311 and/or thedevice-specific commands 312, the media device 103 transmits audiosignals 313 and/or video signals 314 that the application framework 301receives via the input ports 304.

The application 403 then generates audio signals 315 and/or videosignals 316 using the audio signals 313 and/or video signals 314 toprovide enhanced multimedia functionality (e.g., overlaying a GUI on thevideo signals 314, overlaying audio on the audio signals 313).

The application framework 301 then transmits the audio signals 315and/or the video signals 316 to the output device 102 using the outputports 305.

In some implementations, the application framework 301 facilitates websearches and/or web browsing through a GUI that is displayed on theoutput device 102.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating modules of the applicationframework 301, according to some implementations. The applicationframework 301 includes a media device service 401 executing in theapplication framework 301, a media device service applicationprogramming interface (API) 402, an application 403 executing in theapplication framework 301, and device-specific libraries 405. The mediadevice service 401 provides an abstract interface between theapplication 403, the media devices, and the output devices so thatapplication developers can develop applications for the client device101 without having to know the details (e.g., device-specific syntax,device-specific protocols, device-specific APIs, etc.) of particularmedia devices and/or particular output devices that are coupled to theclient device 101. Furthermore, the media device service 401 hides thecomplexity of the asynchronous actions that occur between the clientdevice 101, the output device 102, and the media device 103 bymaintaining state transitions and monitoring the progress of theseasynchronous actions. The device-specific libraries 405 provide mappingsbetween device-agnostic requests and device-agnostic command receivedfrom the application 403 executing in the application framework 301 todevice-specific requests and device-specific commands, respectively, fora target media device. These mappings allow application developers tocall media device service functions 404 of the media device service API402 to make requests to media devices (e.g., making device-agnosticrequests to media devices) and/or to issue commands to media devices(e.g., issuing device-agnostic commands to media devices) without havingto know beforehand which particular media devices a user is using or towhich the user has access.

The following discussion illustrates an example process for processingrequests and/or commands received from the input device 105. Theapplication 403 receives the input events 310 and interprets the inputevents 310 requests and/or commands. The application 403 calls the mediadevice service functions 404 of the media device service API 402 toissue device-agnostic request 411 and/or device-agnostic commands 412 tothe media device service 401. The media device service 401 uses adevice-specific library 405 for a target media device of device-agnosticrequest 411 and/or device-agnostic commands 412 to map thedevice-agnostic requests 411 and/or the device-agnostic commands 412 tothe corresponding device-specific requests 311 and/or the correspondingdevice-specific commands 312, respectively. The media device service 401then issues the device-specific requests 311 and/or the device-specificcommands 312 to the control devices 303.

The media device service 401 provides the audio signals 313 and/or thevideo signals 314 to the application 403. The application 403 mayenhance the audio signals 313 and/or the video signals 314 to producethe audio signals 315 and/or the video signals 316.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the server 110, according to someimplementations. The server 110 typically includes one or moreprocessing units (CPU's, sometimes called processors) 502 for executingprograms (e.g., programs stored in memory 510), one or more network orother communications interfaces 504, memory 510, and one or morecommunication buses 509 for interconnecting these components. Thecommunication buses 509 may include circuitry (sometimes called achipset) that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents. The server 110 optionally includes (but typically does notinclude) a user interface 505 comprising a display device 506 and inputdevices 508 (e.g., keyboard, mouse, touch screen, keypads, etc.). Memory510 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDRRAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and typicallyincludes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 510 optionally includesone or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s) 502. Memory510, or alternately the non-volatile memory device(s) within memory 510,comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, memory 510 or the computer readable storage medium ofmemory 510 stores the following programs, modules and data structures,or a subset thereof:

-   -   an operating system 512 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services and for performing hardware        dependent tasks;    -   a communication module 514 that is used for connecting the        server 110 to other computers via the one or more communication        interfaces 504 (wired or wireless) and one or more communication        networks, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local        area networks, metropolitan area networks, and so on;    -   an optional user interface module 516 that receives commands        from the user via the input devices 508 and generates user        interface objects in the display device 506;    -   the front end module 201, as described herein;    -   the availability module 202, as described herein;    -   the content mapping module 205, as described herein;    -   the metadata importer modules 206-207, as described herein;    -   the web crawler module 208, as described herein;    -   the search index 203 including the content identifiers 243 and        the metadata 244 for instances of media items, as described        herein; and    -   the availability database 204 including the content identifiers        243 and the metadata 244 for instances of media items, as        described herein.

In some implementations, the programs or modules identified abovecorrespond to sets instructions for performing a function describedabove. The sets of instructions can be executed by one or moreprocessors (e.g., the CPUs 502). The above identified modules orprograms (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these programs or modules may be combined or otherwisere-arranged in various implementations. In some implementations, memory510 stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 510 may store additional modules and data structuresnot described above.

Although FIG. 5 shows a “server,” FIG. 5 is intended more as functionaldescription of the various features which may be present in a set ofservers than as a structural schematic of the implementations describedherein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinary skill in theart, items shown separately could be combined and some items could beseparated. For example, some items shown separately in FIG. 5 could beimplemented on single servers and single items could be implemented byone or more servers. The actual number of servers used to implement theserver 110 and how features are allocated among them will vary from oneimplementation to another, and may depend in part on the amount of datatraffic that the system must handle during peak usage periods as well asduring average usage periods.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the client device 101, accordingto some implementations. The client device 101 typically includes one ormore processing units (CPU's, sometimes called processors) 602 forexecuting programs (e.g., programs stored in memory 610), one or morenetwork or other communications interfaces 604, memory 610, the inputdevice port 302, the control devices 303, the input ports 304, theoutput ports 305, and one or more communication buses 609 forinterconnecting these components. The communication buses 609 mayinclude circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects andcontrols communications between system components. Memory 610 includeshigh-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or otherrandom access solid state memory devices; and typically includesnon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices,optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 610 optionally includesone or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s) 602. Memory610, or alternately the non-volatile memory device(s) within memory 610,comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, memory 610 or the computer readable storage medium ofmemory 610 stores the following programs, modules and data structures,or a subset thereof:

-   -   an operating system 612 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services and for performing hardware        dependent tasks;    -   a communication module 614 that is used for connecting the        client device 101 to other computers via the one or more        communication interfaces 604 (wired or wireless) and one or more        communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area        networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, and        so on;    -   a user interface module 616 that receives commands from the user        via the input devices 608 and generates user interface objects        in a display device (e.g., the output device 102);    -   the application framework 301 including the media device service        401 itself including the media device service API 402, the        application 403 itself including the media device service        functions 404, and the device-specific libraries 405, as        described herein; and    -   a streams database 618 that stores URIs video streams and        information related to video streams, as described herein.

In some implementations, the programs or modules identified abovecorrespond to sets instructions for performing a function describedabove. The sets of instructions can be executed by one or moreprocessors (e.g., the CPUs 602). The above identified modules orprograms (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these programs or modules may be combined or otherwisere-arranged in various implementations. In some implementations, memory610 stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 610 may store additional modules and data structuresnot described above.

Although FIG. 6 shows a “client device,” FIG. 6 is intended more asfunctional description of the various features which may be present in aclient device than as a structural schematic of the implementationsdescribed herein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinaryskill in the art, items shown separately could be combined and someitems could be separated.

Populating a Streams Database

As discussed above, it is desirable for an application executing on theclient device 101 to obtain video streams from media devices that areaccessible to the client device so that these video streams may bedisplayed on the output device 103. Since an application developer doesnot know which media devices will be coupled to the client device 101during development of the application, some implementations provide auniversal resource identifier (URI) addressing mechanism that allows theapplication to refer to video streams without having to know specificdetails of media devices from which the video streams are available.URIs and information related to video streams available from mediadevices that are accessible to the client device 101 are stored in astreams database (e.g., the streams database 618).

In some implementations, a video stream is a data stream that onlyincludes video data. In these implementations, audio data correspondingto the video data of the video stream is included in a separate audiostream that is synchronized with the video stream (e.g., usingtimestamps, keyframes, etc.).

In some implementations, a video stream is a data stream that includesvideo data and audio data. For example, the video stream may be a datacontainer that includes video data and audio data. In theseimplementations, the video stream may also be referred to as amultimedia stream.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method 700 for populating the streamsdatabase 618 with information relating to video streams, according tosome implementations. The media device service 401 identifies (702) adevice-specific library (e.g., the device-specific library 405) for amedia device (e.g., the media device 103). As discussed above, adevice-specific library for a media device includes mappings betweendevice-agnostic requests and device-specific requests that areexecutable by the client device 101 to perform requests with respect tothe media device.

The media device service 401 executes (704) a device-specific request ofthe device-specific library for the media device to obtain informationrelated to the video streams that are available from the media device.In some implementations, the information related to a respective videostream includes at least one of: an identifier of the respective videostream, an episode identifier, a name of the respective video stream, achannel number, a start time, an end time, a type of the video stream, agrouping key that is used to group episodes of a series together, a dateand/or time that the video stream was created, a date and/or time thatthe video stream was recorded, and alternate names for the video stream(e.g., to facilitate searching).

For each video stream that is available from the media device, the mediadevice service 401 performs the following operations. The media deviceservice 401 generates (706) a URI for the video stream, where the URIincludes a type of the video stream and at least one of a name of thevideo stream and device-specific parameters for the video stream. Themedia device service 401 then generates (708) a record in the streamsdatabase 618 that includes the URI and at least a portion of theinformation related to the video stream. As discussed above, the streamsdatabase includes records for video streams that are available frommedia devices that are accessible to the client device 101.

In some implementations, the type of video stream includes at least oneof: a channel video stream (e.g., a channel available from a televisionservice, such as over-the-air television service, cable televisionservice, satellite television service, etc.), a program video stream(e.g., a particular video program on a television service, such as aparticular episode of a television series, etc.), a video on demandvideo stream (e.g., a particular video that is available on a video ondemand service), a digital video recorder video stream (e.g., aparticular video recording on a digital video recorder), and a devicevideo stream (e.g., a video stream from a media device such as a DVDplayer, etc.).

In some implementations, the name of the video stream is an abstractreference to the video stream. For example, if the video stream is anepisode of a television series, the name of the video stream may be thename of the episode. If the video stream is a channel video stream, thename of the video stream may be a name of the channel (e.g., “CNN”). Ifthe video stream is a device videos stream, the name of the video streammay be a name of the device (e.g., “DVD” for video streams that areavailable from a DVD player).

In some implementations, the device-specific parameters include at leastone of: an identifier of the media device, an identifier for a channellineup, an identifier of the video stream, an episode identifier, a nameof the video stream, a channel number, a start time, and an end time.These device-specific parameters may be used to access and/or identifythe video stream referred to by the URI. In some implementations, thedevice-specific parameters are used to disambiguate a video stream froma plurality of video streams. For example, if there are two instances ofa particular episode of a television program, the device-specificparameters may include information to distinguish between the twoinstances (e.g., a channel number, a start and/or end time, etc.).Similarly, if there are two DVD players coupled to the client device101, the device-specific parameters may include a device identifier forthe DVD player to distinguish between the two DVD players.

In some implementations, a particular URI is one of a plurality of URItypes, including, but not limited to, a program URI that refers to aparticular program that is available in a television service (e.g., anover-the-air television service, a cable television service, a satellitetelevision service, etc.), a channel URI that refers to a particularchannel of a television service, a device URI that refers to aparticular device coupled to the client device 101, a digital videorecorder URI that refers to a particular recording on a digital videorecorder or refers to a particular digital video recorder, and avideo-on-demand URI that refers to a particular video program that isavailable through a video-on-demand service. Examples of theaforementioned URIs are provided below:

An example program URI is:“tv://program/?channelNumber=313&lineupId=DISH807&startTime=1258725000&endTime=1258731600”,where “program” represents the type of the video stream (e.g., a programvideo stream) and the portion of the URI that comes after the “?” aredevice-specific parameters that are usable by a device-specific libraryto identify the video stream to which the URI refers (e.g., a programthat is on channel 313 of channel lineup DISH807 having a start time of1258725000 and an end time of 1258731600).

An example channel URI is: “tv://channel/CNN”, where “channel”represents the type of the video stream (e.g., a channel video stream)and “CNN” represents the name of the video stream (e.g., the channelCNN).

An example device URI is: “tv://device/dvd”, where “device” representsthe type of the video stream (e.g., a device video stream) and “dvd”represents the name of the video stream (e.g., a DVD video stream).Other names may include “passthrough” (e.g., used to pass through videostream) and “bluray” (e.g., used for Blu-ray video streams).

An example digital video recorder URI is: “tv://dvr/a93jfadb”, where“dvr” represents the type of the video stream (e.g., a digital videorecorder video stream) and “a93jfadb” the name of the video stream(e.g., an opaque name that is generated by the digital video recorder torepresent a particular video recording on the digital video recorder).Another example digital video recorder URI is:“tv://dvr/recording?name=Batman%20Begins”, where “dvr” represents thetype of the video stream (e.g., a digital video recorder video stream)and the portion of the URI after the “?” represents the device-specificparameters that are usable by the device-specific library to identifythe video stream to which the URI refers (e.g., a recording on thedigital video recorder that has the name “Batman Begins”).

An example video-on-demand URI is:“tv://vod/?lineupId=COMCAST000&id=guda094jgg43g”, where “vod” representsthe type of the video stream (e.g., a video-on-demand video stream) andthe portion of the URI after the “?” represents the device-specificparameters that are usable by the device-specific library to identifythe video stream to which the URI refers (e.g., a video-on-demand videostream that is available on Comcast having an identifier“guda094jgg43g”). Another example video-on-demand URI is:“tv://vod/?name=Bruno”, where “vod” represents the type of the videostream (e.g., a video-on-demand video stream) and the portion of the URIafter the “?” represents the device-specific parameters that are usableby the device-specific library to identify the video stream to which theURI refers (e.g., a video-on-demand video stream having the name“Bruno”).

In some implementations, the method 700 is repeated for each mediadevice that is coupled to the client device 101.

Although the method 700 illustrates that the media device service 401initiates the request (e.g., a pull method) to obtain informationrelated to video streams that are available from the media device (e.g.,operation 704 in FIG. 7) that are accessible to the client device 101,the media device service 401 may obtain this information through othermechanisms. In some implementations, the media device publishes theinformation related to video streams that are available from the mediadevice to which the client device 101 subscribes. In someimplementations, the media device pushes the information related tovideo streams that are available from the media device to the clientdevice 101. In some implementations, the media device service 401queries the server 110 to obtain related to video streams that areavailable from the media device (e.g., as described above with referenceto FIG. 2). In these implementations, the media device service 401transmits a query and a list of content sources (e.g., media devices)accessible to the client device 101 to the server 110. The server 110then returns search results (e.g., the search results 235) that includeinformation relating to video streams that are available from the mediadevice.

Note that although the aforementioned URIs refer to video streams, otherURIs may be available to the application. In some implementations, aguide URI is provided to obtain a program guide. For example, the guideURI may be “tv://guide/”, where “guide” indicates that the URI is aguide URI. In some implementations, a search URI is provided to searchvideo streams that are available in the streams database 618. Forexample, the search URI may be “tv://search/?type=channel&name=CNN”,where “search” indicates that the URI is a search URI,“type=channel?name=CNN” indicates that the search is directed to achannel video stream that has a name “CNN”. Thus, this search URI may beused to find all channel streams with the name “CNN”. In anotherexample, the search URI may be “tv://search/?type=dvr&title=Batman”,where “search” indicates that the URI is a search URI,“type=dvr&title=Batman” indicates that the search is directed to digitalvideo recorder video streams that have a title “Batman”. Thus, thissearch URI may be used to find all digital video recorder video streamwith the title “Batman”.

Obtaining URIs for Video Streams

After the streams database 618 is populated with video streams that areavailable from media device that are accessible to the client device101, an application (e.g., the application 403) executing on the clientdevice 101 may query the streams database 618 to obtain URIs for videostreams that are available from the media device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 for obtaining universal resourceidentifiers for video streams, according to some implementations. Themedia device service 401 receives (802) a request to obtain a URI for avideo stream from an application (e.g., the application 403) executingon the client device 101, where the request to obtain the URI (e.g., aURI as described above) for the video stream includes a type of thevideo stream and a name of the video stream.

The media device service 401 queries (804) the streams database 618using the type of the video stream and the name of the video stream toobtain the URI for the video stream. As discussed above, the streamsdatabase includes records for video streams that are available frommedia devices that are accessible to the client device.

The media device service 401 returns (806) the URI to the application,where the URI includes the type of the video stream and at least one ofthe name of the video stream and device-specific parameters for thevideo stream.

Obtaining Video Streams

After receiving a URI from the streams database 618, an application(e.g., the application 403) executing on the client device 101 may usethe URI for video streams that are available from the media device(e.g., the media device 103).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method 900 for obtaining video streams,according to some implementations. The media device service 401 receives(902) a device-agnostic request to obtain a video stream from anapplication (e.g., the application 403) executing on the client device101, where the device-agnostic request includes a URI for the videostream (e.g., a URI as described above). The URI includes a type of thevideo stream and at least one of a name of the video stream anddevice-specific parameters for the video stream. For example, the URImay be “tv://channel/CNN” where “channel” represents the type of thevideo stream (e.g., a channel that is available from a televisionservice) and “CNN” is a name of the video stream (e.g., the channelCNN).

The media device service 401 analyzes (904) the URI to identify a mediadevice from which the video stream is available. Attention is nowdirected to FIG. 10, which is a flowchart of a method for analyzing(904) a URI to identify a media device from which a video stream isavailable, according to some implementations. The media device service401 analyzes (1002) the URI to identify at least the type of the videostream and determines (1004) the media device based at least in part onthe type of the video stream. Continuing the example from above,assuming that the client device 101 is coupled to a cable set top box,the media device service 401 identifies the cable set top box as themedia device from which the channel video stream for CNN is available.

Returning to FIG. 9, the media device service 401 identifies (906) adevice-specific library for the media device. As discussed above, thedevice-specific library for the media device includes mappings betweendevice-agnostic requests and device-specific requests that areexecutable by the client device 101 to perform requests with respect tothe media device. Continuing the example from above, the media deviceservice 401 identifies the device-specific library for the cable set topbox.

The media device service 401 executes (908) a device-specific requestcorresponding to the device-agnostic request to obtain the video stream,where the device-specific request includes the URI. For example, sincethe device-agnostic request is a request to obtain the video stream, themedia device service 401 executes a device-specific request forobtaining video streams to obtain the video stream from the mediadevice.

Responsive to executing the device-specific request, the media deviceservice 401 receives (910) the video stream from the media device andprovides (912) the video stream to the application. As discussed above,the application may enhance or otherwise modify the video stream priorto being output to the output device 102.

The methods illustrated in FIGS. 7-10 may be governed by instructionsthat are stored in a computer readable storage medium and that areexecuted by one or more processors of a client device. Each of theoperations shown in FIGS. 7-10 may correspond to instructions stored ina non-transitory computer memory or computer readable storage medium. Invarious implementations, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium includes a magnetic or optical disk storage device, solid statestorage devices such as Flash memory, or other non-volatile memorydevice or devices. The computer readable instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium may be in source code,assembly language code, object code, or other instruction format that isinterpreted and/or executable by one or more processors.

Plural instances may be provided for components, operations orstructures described herein as a single instance. Finally, boundariesbetween various components, operations, and data stores are somewhatarbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context ofspecific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionalityare envisioned and may fall within the scope of the implementation(s).In general, structures and functionality presented as separatecomponents in the example configurations may be implemented as acombined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionalitypresented as a single component may be implemented as separatecomponents. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements fall within the scope of the implementation(s).

It will also be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact couldbe termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could betermed a first contact, which changing the meaning of the description,so long as all occurrences of the “first contact” are renamedconsistently and all occurrences of the second contact are renamedconsistently. The first contact and the second contact are bothcontacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting of the claims.As used in the description of the implementations and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in accordance with a determination”or “in response to detecting,” that a stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it isdetermined (that a stated condition precedent is true)” or “if (a statedcondition precedent is true)” or “when (a stated condition precedent istrue)” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response todetermining” or “in accordance with a determination” or “upon detecting”or “in response to detecting” that the stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context.

The foregoing description included example systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative implementations. For purposes of explanation,numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide anunderstanding of various implementations of the inventive subjectmatter. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the art thatimplementations of the inventive subject matter may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In general, well-known instruction instances,protocols, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific implementations. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in view of the aboveteachings. The implementations were chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles and their practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the implementations andvarious implementations with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: at aclient device communicatively coupled to one or more media devices, theclient device having one or more processors and memory: for a particularmedia device of the one or more media devices, sending a device-specificrequest to the particular media device to obtain information related tothe video streams that are available from the particular media device;in response to the device-specific request, obtaining the informationrelated to the video streams that are available from the particularmedia device; and for each video stream that is available from theparticular media device: determining a video stream type for the videostream; based on the video stream type, generating a particular type ofuniversal resource identifier (URI) for the video stream selected from aplurality of URI types, the URI including the video stream type and atleast one device-specific parameter for the video stream; and generatinga record in a streams database located at the client device, the recordincluding the URI and at least a portion of the information related tothe video stream; receiving, from an application executing on the clientdevice, a request to obtain a first URI for a particular video stream;in accordance with the request, obtaining the first URI from the streamsdatabase; after obtaining the first URI: receiving, from the applicationexecuting on the client device, a request to obtain the particular videostream, the request including the first URI; obtaining the particularvideo stream from a first media device identified by the first URI,wherein the first media device is one of the one or more media devices;and outputting the particular video stream for display at an outputdevice.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theinformation related to a respective video stream is selected from thegroup consisting of: an identifier of the respective video stream; anepisode identifier; a name of the respective video stream; a channelnumber; a start time; and an end time.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the request to obtain the first URI includesa type of the particular video stream and a name of the particular videostream; and wherein obtaining the first URI from the streams databasecomprises querying the streams database using the type of the particularvideo stream and the name of the particular video stream.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein receiving the request toobtain the particular video stream comprises receiving, from theapplication, a device-agnostic request to obtain the particular videostream, the device-agnostic request including the first URI, the methodfurther comprising: analyzing the first URI to identify a media devicefrom which the particular video stream is available; identifying adevice-specific library for the media device; executing adevice-specific request corresponding to the device-agnostic request toobtain the particular video stream, the device-specific requestincluding the first URI; wherein obtaining the particular video streamcomprises: responsive to executing the device-specific request,receiving the particular video stream from the media device; andproviding the particular video stream to the application.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein analyzing the first URIto identify the media device from which the particular video stream isavailable includes: analyzing the first URI to identify at least thetype of the particular video stream; and determining the media devicebased at least in part on the type of the particular video stream. 6.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the type of videostream is selected from the group consisting of: a channel video stream;a program video stream; a video on demand video stream; a digital videorecorder video stream; and a device video stream.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, for eachvideo stream that is available from the particular media device,determining one or more device-specific parameters for the video streambased on the video stream type; wherein the one or more device-specificparameters include the at least one device-specific parameter; andwherein the one or more device-specific parameters are selected from thegroup consisting of: an identifier of the media device; an identifierfor a channel lineup; an identifier of the video stream; an episodeidentifier; a name of the video stream; a channel number; a start time;and an end time.
 8. A client system, comprising: at least one processor;memory; and at least one program stored in the memory and executable bythe at least one processor, the at least one program comprisinginstructions to: for a particular media device of one or more mediadevices coupled to the client system, send a device-specific request tothe particular media device to obtain information related to the videostreams that are available from the particular media device in responseto the device-specific request, obtain the information related to thevideo streams that are available from the particular media device; andfor each video stream that is available from the particular mediadevice: determine a video stream type for the video stream; based on thevideo stream type, generate a particular type of universal resourceidentifier (URI) for the video stream selected from a plurality of URItypes, the URI including the video stream type and at least onedevice-specific parameter for the video stream; and generate a record ina streams database located at the client system, the record includingthe URI and at least a portion of the information related to the videostream; receive, from an application executing on the client device, arequest to obtain a first URI for a particular video stream; inaccordance with the request, obtaining the first URI from the streamsdatabase; after obtaining the first URI: receive, from the applicationexecuting on the client device, a request to obtain the particular videostream, the request including the first URI; obtain the particular videostream from a first media device identified by the first URI, whereinthe first media device is one of the one or more media devices; andoutput the particular video stream for display at an output device. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the information related to a respectivevideo stream is selected from the group consisting of: an identifier ofthe respective video stream; an episode identifier; a name of therespective video stream; a channel number; a start time; and an endtime.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein: wherein the request to obtainthe first URI includes a type of the particular video stream and a nameof the particular video stream; wherein obtaining the first URI from thestreams database comprises querying the streams database using the typeof the particular video stream and the name of the particular videostream.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions to receivethe request to obtain the particular video stream include instructionsto receive, from the application, a device-agnostic request to obtainthe particular video stream, the device-agnostic request including thefirst URI, the at least one program further including instructions to:analyze the first URI to identify a media device from which theparticular video stream is available; identify a device-specific libraryfor the media device; execute a device-specific request corresponding tothe device-agnostic request to obtain the particular video stream, thedevice-specific request including the first URI; wherein theinstructions to obtain the particular video stream include instructionsto: responsive to executing the device-specific request, receive theparticular video stream from the media device; and provide theparticular video stream to the application.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the instructions to analyze the first URI to identify the mediadevice from which the particular video stream is available includeinstructions to: analyze the first URI to identify at least the type ofthe particular video stream; and determine the media device based atleast in part on the type of the particular video stream.
 13. The systemof claim 8, wherein the type of video stream is selected from the groupconsisting of: a channel video stream; a program video stream; a videoon demand video stream; a digital video recorder video stream; and adevice video stream.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least oneprogram further comprises instructions to, for each video stream that isavailable from the particular media device, determine one or moredevice-specific parameters for the video stream based on the videostream type; wherein the one or more device-specific parameters includethe at least one device-specific parameter; and wherein the one or moredevice-specific parameters are selected from the group consisting of: anidentifier of the media device; an identifier for a channel lineup; anidentifier of the video stream; an episode identifier; a name of thevideo stream; a channel number; a start time; and an end time.
 15. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: at a client devicecommunicatively coupled to one or more media devices, the client devicehaving one or more processors and memory: populating a streams databasewith information relating to respective video streams that are availablefrom a respective media device accessible to the client device;receiving, from an application executing on the client device, a requestto obtain a first universal resource identifier (URI) for a particularvideo stream; in accordance with the request, obtaining the first URIfrom the streams database; after obtaining the first URI: receiving,from an application executing on the client device, a device-agnosticrequest to obtain the particular video stream, the device-agnosticrequest including the first URI, the first URI having a particular URItype and including a type of the particular video stream and at leastone device-specific parameter for the particular video stream, andwherein the first URI is a record contained within the streams database;identifying, based on the URI type, a media device from which theparticular video stream is available; identifying a device-specificlibrary for the media device at the client device, the device-specificlibrary for the media device including mappings between device-agnosticrequests and device-specific requests that are executable by the clientdevice to perform requests with respect to the media device; sending adevice-specific request corresponding to the device-agnostic request toobtain the particular video stream from the media device; responsive toexecuting the device-specific request, receiving the particular videostream from the media device; and providing the particular video streamto the application.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the request to obtain the first URI includes the type of thevideo stream and the name of the video stream; wherein obtaining thefirst URI from the streams database comprises querying the streamsdatabase using the type of the particular video stream and the name ofthe particular video stream, the streams database including records forvideo streams that are available from media devices that are accessibleto the client device.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein populating the streams database comprises: identifying arespective device-specific library for the respective media device;executing a respective device-specific request of the respectivedevice-specific library for the respective media device to obtaininformation related to the respective video streams that are availablefrom the respective media device; and for each respective video streamthat is available from the respective media device: generating arespective URI for the respective video stream, the respective URIincluding a respective type of the respective video stream and at leastone of a respective name of the respective video stream and respectivedevice-specific parameters for the respective video stream; andgenerating a respective record in the streams database located at theclient device, the record including the respective URI and at least aportion of the information related to the respective video stream. 18.The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the informationrelated to the respective video stream is selected from the groupconsisting of: an identifier of the respective video stream; an episodeidentifier; a name of the respective video stream; a type of the videostream; a grouping key; and alternate names for the video stream. 19.The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein analyzing the firstURI to identify the media device from which the particular video streamis available includes: analyzing the first URI to identify at least thetype of the particular video stream; and determining the media devicebased at least in part on the type of the particular video stream. 20.The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the type ofparticular video stream is selected from the group consisting of: achannel video stream; a program video stream; a video on demand videostream; a digital video recorder video stream; and a device videostream.
 21. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein thedevice-specific parameters are selected from the group consisting of: anidentifier of the media device; an identifier for a channel lineup; anidentifier of the video stream; an episode identifier; a name of thevideo stream; a channel number; a start time; and an end time.
 22. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: generating a search URI for aparticular search query, the search URI including a type of video streamto be searched and one or more search query terms; and generating arecord for the search URI in the streams database, the record includingthe URI.